Year: 2014

Bible Term: Born Again

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date January 30, 2014

In a physical sense, we are born once through our parents. Spiritually, we are born again (or reborn) by the Holy Spirit, through Jesus.

Although used frequently in some circles, the phrase born again only occurs a few times in the Bible: John 3:3-4, John 3:7, 1 Peter 1:3, and 1 Peter 1:23.

[See saved and salvation.]

Key verse about Born Again: For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God (1 Peter 1:23, NIV).

A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.

Tags born again, save

Bible Terms

Bible Term: Books of Paul

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date January 30, 2014

The Apostle Paul wrote about half of the books of the New Testament. Although a definitive list cannot be confirmed, the following books are generally accepted to have been written by Paul:

Paul was also called Saul (Acts 13:9). You can read about him in Acts 9 through 28. The dramatic story about how he became a follower of Jesus is found in Acts 9:1-31.

Tags Paul

Bible Terms

Bible Term: Books of Moses

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date January 30, 2014

The authorship of the first five books of the Bible is attributed to Moses.

He recorded the oral accounts passed on from prior generations to write Genesis, while he is the central figure (aside from God) for the events in the other four books. These five books, sometimes called the Pentateuch or Torah (the law), are:

Genesis, which covers the beginning of the world (creation) and the formation of the nation of Israel.
Exodus is about the nation of Israel escaping their captivity in Egypt and fleeing; it is their exodus from Egypt.
Leviticus is a record of rules and regulations for the right living of God’s chosen people.
Numbers is an account of Israel’s wanderings in the desert and contains two censuses (that is, numberings) of the people.
Deuteronomy is the book of laws, not in a narrow sense, but in a narrative form as presented by Moses.

Key verse about the Books of Moses: “After the usual readings from the books of Moses and the prophets, those in charge of the service sent them this message: ‘Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for the people, come and give it’.” (Acts 13:15, NLT).

Also see the Law of Moses.

Tags books of Moses

Bible Terms

Bible Term: Books of the Bible

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date January 30, 2014

The Bible is a collection of books, written by various authors over a period of several hundred years. Think of the Bible as a diverse anthology of godly communication.

It contains historic accounts, poetry, letters of instruction and encouragement, messages from God sent through his emissaries (prophets), and prophecies of future events.

Altogether, the Bible contains 66 books*. They’re grouped into two sections. The Old Testament contains 39 books* that precede and anticipate Jesus. The New Testament contains 27 books that cover Jesus’ life and the work of his followers after his death.

* see Apocrypha for more information

Tags Bible

Bible Terms

Bible Term: Blessing

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date January 30, 2014

In modern usage, a blessing is thought of as a prayer, as in saying a blessing before a meal.

In the Bible and in religious contexts, a blessing, or to bless someone, takes on greater significance. Blessing someone is wishing, bestowing, bequeathing, or praying for good will, prosperity, or God’s mercy. A blessing is given to a lesser person by a greater person (Hebrews 7:7).

A secondary definition of blessing is “to honor as holy” or “to glorify.” In this respect, we can “bless God” or “bless the Lord.” Not all translations of the Bible use this phrasing; in this context, often praise or exalt are used instead of bless

For additional insight, consider that the opposite of bless is curse.

Key verse about Blessing: ‘Bring me some game and prepare me some tasty food to eat, so that I may give you my blessing in the presence of the Lord before I die’ (Genesis 27:7, NIV).

Tags blessing

Bible Terms

Bible Term: Bind

Bind literally means to tie or secure, as with a rope or cord. A secondary meaning is to compel or obligate.

In Bible times, a yoke was essentially a Rabbi‘s teaching of what was prohibited and what was allowed, according to his interpretation of Scripture.

The process of ascertaining what things were prohibited, was the act of binding. To bind something, then was to prohibit it, that is, to hold to it tightly. To bind implies an obligation of performance.

Jesus‘ yoke was light; there were only a few things he wanted to bind, that is, to prohibit.

Contrast to loose.

Key verse about Bind: Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads (Deuteronomy 6:8, NIV).

Tags binding and loosing

Bible Terms

Bible Term: Biblical Times

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date January 30, 2014

Biblical times refers to the time in which the accounts of the Bible were written and occurred. The various books of the Bible were written over a span of roughly 1,500 years from about 1400 BC to 100 CE.

Tags biblical times

Bible Terms

Bible Term: Bible

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date January 30, 2014

The Bible, or Holy Bible, is God’s written word to us. It is from God and, if we let it, it can teach us, correct us, and train us in godliness (2 Timothy 3:16). The purpose of this website is to encourage people to regularly read the Bible, the greatest book ever written.

The Bible is actually a collection of books, written by various authors over a period of several hundred years. Think of the Bible as a diverse anthology of godly communication.

It contains historic accounts, poetry, letters of instruction and encouragement, messages from God sent through his emissaries (prophets), and future prophecies.

Altogether, the Bible contains 66 books. (See Apocrypha for more informatio.)

The Bible is grouped into two main sections. The Old Testament contains 39 books* that precede and anticipate Jesus. The New Testament contains 27 books that cover Jesus’ life and the work of his followers.

Also see Scripture.

Tags Bible

Bible Terms

Bible Term: Believer

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date January 30, 2014

A believer is someone who follows Jesus.

In a literal sense it means the same as Christian, although that word has become so maligned and distorted that many true Christians prefer to call themselves Christ followers, followers of Jesus, or simply believers.

The usage of the label believer is predominately found in the New Testament book of Acts and various epistles.

Key verse about Believer: Because of this, the rumor spread among the believers that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say that he would not die; he only said, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?” (John 21:23, NIV).

Tags believe

Bible Terms

Bible Term: Believe

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date January 30, 2014

To believe is to accept the existence and reality of God through faith, having conviction, confidence, and trust in him; to accept him as real and true.

The word believe occurs hundreds of times in the Bible. Jesus instructed people to believe in him. He said that if we believe in him, we will be saved (Mark 16:16).

Key verse about Believe: Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness (Genesis 15:6, NIV).

Tags believe